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FACTS AND CURRENT TRENDS
CAREER CLUSTERS AND CAREER PATHWAYS. ''' A substantial portion of American high school students participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. CTE programs integrate traditional high school coursework with career preparatory courses that build students’ technical skills in a variety of areas. Programs are grouped into “career clusters” at the state or district level. In a typical high school, students may take one or two elective CTE courses as part of their regular curriculum. CTE programs in Illinois support following content areas: Agricultural Education; Business, Marketing and Computer Education; Family and Consumer Sciences; Health Science Technology; and Technology and Engineering Education. '''PROGRAMS OF STUDY and CCTC - Retrieved Feb 13, 2019 from https://careertech.org/Illinois - Illinois has programs of study within each of the 16 Career Clusters, but does not maintain statewide CTE standards for any of the Career Clusters: *Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources *Architecture & Construction *Arts, A/V Technology & Communications *Business, Management &Administration *Education & Training *Finance *Government & Public Administration *Health Science *Hospitality & Tourism *Human Services *Information Technology *Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security *Manufacturing *Marketing *Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics *Transportation, Distribution & Logistics CTE DELIVERY SYSTEMS - Retrieved Feb 13, 2019 from https://careertech.org/Illinois - CTE in IL is offered through the following institutions: *Comprehensive high schools *Charter schools *Area career centers *Community Colleges CURRENT TRENDS AND CHALLENGES FACING CTE/ STATE OF ILLINOIS - Retrieved Feb 13, 2019 from https://careertech.org/resource/2018-year-in-review - As state of Illinois, among others, did a great job for the last three years working on overcoming almost all of them, there are still a few that need to be addressed more closely. They are: - graduation requirements policies with focus on CTE and CTE-related options for demonstrating career and college readiness, as well as diploma endorsements that recognize CTE participation. Best practices to overcome this challenge, well-thought-out and employed by other states, are to incorporate core academic or state-required content into courses and/or CTE courses/programs and use proficiency-based methods to demonstrate mastery of competencies in each course to earn graduation credit. It can be done by designing strongly integrated, interdisciplinary courses that support authentic, project-based, personalized learning. - CTE Standards/ Accreditation with focus on defining the knowledge and skills developed by CTE, including curriculum standards, standards for work-based learning and postsecondary accreditation to create order out of confusion. Since many CTE programs transitioned from helping students prepare for an entry-level job to helping students prepare for a career, individual states created different sets of standards for student learning in CTE programs that vary in quality and specificity. Common and shared set of standards that are benchmark for students in CTE program, regardless of where they live or which delivery system they use, will eliminate distinct disadvantage for competing in the ever-changing global economy. There is the persistent challenge to have stronger collaboration between academic and technical content and delivery. So far, only two states - Iowa and Oregon - utilize the same standards fully aligned between secondary and postsecondary systems for all CTE. It can be done by incorporating a set of Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) Career Cluster and Career Pathways standards which were intentionally developed to support the goal of transitioning to a delivery system of programs of study, in conjunction with or in place of existing state or industry standards that are narrower in focus. - STEM with explicit focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. Best practice to overcome this challenge, first, will be a national initiative to develop and/or modify, and promote a STEM curriculum and experiential education in grades K-12 through a strong cooperation with industry and academic partners that will allow students to receive a STEM endorsement on their high school diploma. CTE programs vary widely both between and within states and districts, but national trends exist, and general purpose is the same - to encourage students to focus on a set of courses that align with a particular career path. CTE can be a path to college, not a path away from it. The value of CTE to students goes deeper then just concern about employment or global competitiveness. It can foster a deeper, more satisfying approach to work and life. It can lead to better economic outcomes, can keep children in schools. Evidence shows that CTE is an effective strategy for preparing learners for career success as it can enlarge the lasting perspective of its students by making connections between different areas and embracing the task of lifelong learning. Let’s hope any state leaders will demonstrate wisdom by continuously evaluating, revising and improving their CTE systems.